Mathematical symbols like the equal sign (‘=’), not equal sign (‘≠’), and approximately equal sign (‘≈’) are essential tools in understanding and communicating math. These symbols have specific names and meanings, making them useful in conversations and written English.
The reference covers key areas including a detailed list of mathematical symbols, images and examples of these math symbols. This structured approach will make it easier for you to learn and remember these important tools.
Contents
Mathematical Symbols List
Mathematics Symbols Words
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
- Plus-minus
- Strict inequality
- Equality
- Inequation
- Tilde
- Congruence
- Infinity
- Inequality
- Material equivalence
- Material implication
- Theta
- Empty set
- Triangle or delta
- For all
- Pi constant
- Integral
- Intersection
- Union
- Factorial
- Therefore
- Square root
- Perpendicular
- Exists
- Line
- Line segment
- Ray
- Right angle
- Angle
- Summation
- Braces (grouping)
- Brackets
- Parentheses (grouping)
Math Symbols with Images and Examples
Learn these Math symbols with images, examples and video lessons to improve your Math vocabulary in English.
Addition
– Read as: Plus/ Add
– Example: “I have two apples, plus three more, so now I have five apples.” (2 + 3 = 5)
Subtraction
– Read as: Minus
– Example: “Five minus one equals four.” (5 – 1 = 4)
Multiplication
– Read as: Times/ Multiplied by
– Example: “If you multiply 5 by 4, the result is 20.” (4 x 5 = 20)
Division
– Read as: Divided by
– Example: “If you divide 10 by 2, the result is 5.” (10 : 2 =5)
Plus-minus
– Read as: Plus or minus
– Example: “Six plus or minus three equals nine or three.” (6 ± 3 = 9 or 3)
Strict inequality
– Read as: Is greater than
– Example: “If x is strictly greater than 3, we can write it as x > 3.”
– Read as: Is less than
– Example: “If y is strictly less than 10, we can write it as y < 10.”
Equality
– Read as: Is equal to
– Example: “If the sum of 2 and 3 is equal to 5, we can write it as 2 + 3 = 5.”
Inequation
– Read as: Is not equal to
– Example: “If y is not equal to 0, we can write it as y ≠ 0, which is an inequation.”
Tilde
– Read as: Is similar to
– Example: “π is similar to 3.14” (π ~ 3.14)
Congruence
– Read as: Is congruent to
– Example: “If triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DEF, we can write it as ABC ≅ DEF.”
Infinity
– Read as: Infinity
– Example: “The set of all natural numbers (1, 2, 3, …) goes on to infinity.”
Inequality
– Read as: Is greater than or equals
– Example: “If x is greater than or equal to 5, we can write it as x ≥ 5”
– Read as: Is less than or equals
– Example: “If y is less than or equal to 10, we can write it as y ≤ 10”
Material equivalence
– Read as: Is equivalent to
– Example: “If a + b ⇔ c, we can say that a + b is equivalent to c.”
Material implication
– Read as: Implies
– Example: “If x > 5 ⇒ x + 2 > 7, we can say that if x is greater than 5, implies that x + 2 is greater than 7.”
Theta
– Read as: Theta
– Example: The symbol Theta (θ) is commonly used to represent an angle in a geometric figure or in trigonometry.
Empty set
– Read as: Empty set
– Example:
Let A = {x | x is an even number greater than 10} and B = {x | x is an odd number less than 5}.
What is A ∩ B, the intersection of sets A and B?
Since B is the empty set (∅), there are no elements in common between A and B. Therefore, A ∩ B is also the empty set (∅).
Triangle or delta
– Read as: Triangle/ Delta
– Example: “The Greek letter delta (Δ) is often used to represent the area of a triangle, where Δ = 1/2 base x height.”
For all
– Read as: For all
– Example: “For all positive integers n, the sum of the first n odd numbers is equal to n². This statement means that if we add up the first n odd numbers (1, 3, 5, …), the result will always be equal to n², and it holds true for every positive integer n.”
Pi constant
– Read as: Pi
– Example: “The number π (pi) is a mathematical constant that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.”
Integral
– Read as: Integral
– Example: “The integral of the function f(x) = x² from 0 to 1 represents the area under the curve of the function between x = 0 and x = 1, and it is equal to 1/3.”
Intersection
– Read as: Intersection of two sets
– Example: “If A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6}, then the intersection of A and B is {3, 4}, since these are the only elements that are in both sets. We can write this as A ∩ B = {3, 4}.”
Union
– Read as: Union of two sets
– Example: “If A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6}, then the union of A and B is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, since these are all the elements that are in either A or B. We can write this as A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.”
Factorial
– Read as: Factorial
– Example: “5! (read as “5 factorial”) is equal to 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1, which is equal to 120.”
Therefore
– Read as: Therefore
– Example: “If a triangle has two sides of equal length and the angles opposite those sides are also equal, therefore the triangle is isosceles.”
Square root
– Read as: Square root of
– Example: “The square root of 9 is 3, because 3 x 3 = 9.”(√9=3)
Perpendicular
– Read as: Is perpendicular to
– Example: “The diagonals of a square, which are perpendicular to each other and bisect each other.”
Exists
– Read as: Exists
– Example: “If we say that “there exists a real number x such that x² + 1 = 0,” we mean that there is at least one real number that satisfies this equation.”
Percent
– Read as: Percent
– Example: “If we want to calculate what 15% of 80 is, we can write it as 15% × 80 = 0.15 × 80 = 12. This means that 15% of 80 is equal to 12.”
Line
– Read as: Line AB
– Example: “If we have two points A and B on a line, we can refer to the line that passes through them as line AB. We can write this using the symbol for a line as AB.”
Line segment
– Read as: Segment AB
– Example: “If we have two points A and B and we want to refer to the line segment that goes from A to B, we can call it segment AB.”
Ray
– Read as: Ray AB
– Example: “If we have a point A and a point B on a line such that B is on the ray that extends from A, we can refer to the ray as ray AB.”
Right angle
– Read as: Right angle
– Example: “If we have a square, each of its four corners forms a right angle, and we can represent each of these angles using the symbol ⊾.”
Angle
– Read as: Angle
– Example: “If we have two intersecting lines, the angle formed by the two lines can be represented using the symbol ∠ABC, where A and C are points on one line and B is the vertex of the angle.”
Summation
– Read as: Sum of/ Sigma
– Example: “The sum of 3 and 5 is 8, which we can write as 3 + 5 = 8.” (Σ(3, 5)=8)
Braces (grouping)
– Read as: Braces
– Example: “If we want to represent the set of all even numbers between 1 and 10, we can write it as {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, using braces to group together the elements of the set.”
Brackets
– Read as: Brackets
– Example: “If we want to distribute the factor 3 to the sum of 4 and 2, we can write it as 3[4 + 2], which means 3 times the sum of 4 and 2.”
Parentheses (grouping)
– Read as: Parentheses
Example: “If we want to calculate the value of 4 plus 2 times 3, we can write it as 4 + (2 × 3), which means 2 times 3 is calculated first, and then the result is added to 4.”
Learn more how and when to use Parentheses () Brackets [] in English.
Practice here: Math symbols Worksheets
Mathematical Symbols List | Video
Learn useful math symbols with American English pronunciation.
- Order of Adjectives Exercises and Worksheets - May 16, 2025
- Concrete Nouns Exercises and Worksheets - May 16, 2025
- Adverbs of Place Exercises and Worksheets - May 16, 2025